1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an application processing apparatus and method for a mobile terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method that determine whether to execute an application by checking kernel modification in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, many mobile terminals employ the Linux kernel, whose source code is released as open-source software, as their Operating System (OS) kernel. The Linux kernel provides core system services related to security, memory management, process management, and networking and device drivers. The Linux kernel resides between hardware and software in abstraction layers.
The Linux kernel is open-source software licensed under the General Public License (GPL). Any licensee who adheres to the terms and conditions of the GPL is allowed to use and modify licensed software. However, this may make it extremely difficult to prevent modification of the Linux kernel itself. Accordingly, network operators or hardware manufacturers may have to pay extra costs to cope with malicious or unwanted modification of core system binaries such as OS kernel binaries. A malicious, or even unintentionally incompatible, modification of the Linux kernel may prevent an application from executing properly.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method that determine whether to execute an application by checking kernel modification in a mobile terminal.